System and method for the creation and access of dynamic course content

ABSTRACT

A computer based system and method for the creation and access of dynamic course content and associated media products is disclosed. The present invention utilizes dynamic current content sources such as news, web sources, blogs, podcasts, user generated content, and other sources to create media products such as slides, videos, audio and the like. The media products of the present invention are keyed to the static framework of the textbook or textbooks, and are searchable by textbook structure, media structure, key terms, date range, and the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/955,919 filed on Aug. 15, 2007,and is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 12/191,459filed on Aug. 14, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to educational course contentdevelopment, and more particularly to a computer based system and methodfor the creation and access of dynamic course content and associatedmedia products.

2. Description of Related Art

Traditional courses that are taught in, for example, a college oruniversity environment, often rely heavily on a textbook for coursecontent. Over the years, many courses have been taught based on achapter to chapter approach to learning. This approach has been provento work well with static, and often times mature technical fields. Withthe continued growth in knowledge dissemination technologies driven bycomputers and networking, many fields of endeavor today change andevolve fairly quickly, leaving the static textbook model of coursecontent development lacking current and timely information in addition,textbooks are still, largely bound and printed materials, which makeschanges and updates difficult and costly. This disparity between theneed for current and timely information and the static confines oftraditional textbooks has forced many textbook publishers to addsupplemental materials to their textbook offerings. These supplementalmaterials may include videos, slides, supplements and addenda, coursepacks, ancillaries, and other such add-ons. The offering of supplementalmaterials by textbook publishers, while an improvement over the staticnature of the textbook itself, is still, however, static. Althoughpublishers have begun to provide a number of online resources in theform of online quizzes and interactive flash cards, for example, theseare targeted at students and for the most part still remain fixed innature, and do not adequately address the need for fresh, dynamicmaterial in course content development.

The addition of dynamic and current material to an otherwise statictextbook approach to learning has been recognized by many innovativefaculty members, professors, and course instructors. Not only does theaddition of such dynamic and current material add to the overalllearning experience, but the use of current, real world applications oftheoretical course concepts also captures the interest and attention ofstudents, making classroom time more effective and productive.

The task of locating, reviewing and using dynamic and current materialin the development of course content has been relegated to thoseinstructors who have the time, determination and energy to seek outrelevant articles, news clippings, and other timely and current mediainformation. Once appropriate content is found, it is often times out ofdate by the time a course is taught in subsequent quarters or semesters.This creates a burden on the instructor to continually seek out timelyand relevant information for each upcoming class. The ongoing search forrelevant and timely course content has in the past been very laborintensive, and as a result is often times not done with consistency andthoroughness.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a systemand method for the creation and access of dynamic course content. It isanother object of the present invention to provide a system and methodfor the creation and access of dynamic course content that correlatesthe structure of a selected textbook with current content mediainformation. It is another object of the present invention to provide asystem and method for the creation and access of dynamic course contentthat correlates media products to current content. It is another objectof the present invention to provide a system and method for the creationand access of dynamic course content that has a search function forfinding media products based on user search criteria. It is yet anotherobject of the present invention to provide a system and method for thecreation and access of dynamic course content that can be accessedthrough a network. It is yet another object of the present invention toprovide a system and method for the creation and access of dynamiccourse content that allows a user to download media products based onuser defined search and selection criteria. It is another object of thepresent invention to provide a method for the creation of a dynamiccourse syllabus where current content is correlated to events in acourse. These and other objects of the present invention will becomeevident to one skilled in the art after a review of this specification,claims, and the attached drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system andmethod for the creation and access of dynamic course content having acomputer program for correlating textbook structure data and courseconcepts with media products, a user interface for interaction with thecomputer program, a database of textbook structure data and courseconcepts operatively coupled to said computer program, at least onedynamic content source used in the creation of said media products, anda search utility.

The foregoing paragraph has been provided by way of introduction, and isnot intended to limit the scope of this invention as defined by thisspecification, claims, and the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described by reference to the following drawings,in which like numerals refer to like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting a prior art approach to course contentdevelopment;

FIG. 2 is a top level block diagram of course content development usingthe system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram depicting the various logicalcomponents of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top level data access diagram of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a typical user session of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of one embodiment of the present inventionshowing a media search session by textbook structure;

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of one embodiment of the present inventionshowing a media search session by key term; and

FIG. 8 is a screenshot of one embodiment of the present inventionshowing a media view following a media search session.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting the syllabus creation routine of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 10-17 are various exemplary screenshots of the present invention.

The present invention will be described in connection with a preferredembodiment; however, it will be understood that there is no intent tolimit the invention to the embodiment described. On the contrary, theintent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents asmay be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby this specification, claims, and the attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightswhatsoever.

For a general understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been usedthroughout to designate identical elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 depicting a prior art approach to course contentdevelopment. A basic understanding of a common prior art approach tocourse content development will aid in understanding the presentinvention and its various embodiments thereof. Referring to FIG. 1,static material such as a textbook, as well as ancillaries, coursepacks, and other material, as shown in block 101, is often times used byan instructor, professor, faculty member, teacher, or other individual,to prepare course content for an upcoming course, seminar, class,session, lecture, or the like. The use of a textbook as the basis forcourse content has, in years past, been the de facto standard for coursecontent development. The addition of instructor added materials 105provides up-to-date, timely and custom course content to the statictextbook baseline.

This need to supplement static materials continues to grow. Asinformation exchange has become faster and more streamlined throughprogress in the communications arts (computers, television, video andaudio sources, and the like), the textbook by itself for manydisciplines has become mostly insufficient for course contentdevelopment. Publishers of textbooks and others reacted by offeringancillary materials to supplement textbooks, course packs, and othermaterial. This was all offered up to the individual preparing the coursecontent 103. The disadvantage to such an approach is that thissupplemental material is still primarily static in nature, and stilldoes not represent timely, current real-world information. In addition,keeping these ancillary materials up to date is itself a chore.

The instructor, professor, faculty member, teacher, or other individualpreparing the course content was driven to seek out supplemental, timelyreal-world materials. These miscellaneous instructor-added materials 105were added to the course content 103 in an attempt to keep coursecontent fresh, current, and interesting. There were also thoseinstructors who would abandon the static textbook model altogether, andinstead prepare course content strictly from materials located,gathered, and prepared by the instructor. Of course, the prior artprocesses described by way of FIG. 1 were, and still are, inefficient,time consuming, and in need of a better system for course contentdevelopment.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a top level block diagram 200 of course contentdevelopment using the system of the present invention is depicted.Static material 201 such as a textbook, ancillaries, course packs andother material is mapped to a computer program 207. The mapping uses thedata relationships contained in the static material, such as title,chapter, author, publisher, ISBN number, year of publication, key terms,and the like. Current content 205, such as business news, web sources,podcasts, blogs, and user generated content, is also received by thecomputer program 207. The current content 205 is used, in someembodiments of the present invention, to generate media products (notshown in FIG. 2). The current content 205 is dynamic, and is updated ona regular basis either through the computer program 207, manually, orthrough an external mechanism. The mapping of static material 201 withdynamic current content 205 by way of the computer program 207 producesthe useful and tangible output of course content 203. The course content203 produced by way of the present invention is enriched over coursecontent developed by prior art approaches such as those described inFIG. 1. The present invention further contains functional elements thatare described by way of FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3, a functional block diagram 300 depicting the various logicalcomponents of the present invention is illustrated. The various logicalcomponents described are contained either in, or operatively coupledwith, the application software 301. A database or other data schemacontaining textbook structure 303 is used to map or otherwise correlatekey terms, course concepts and information contained in a statictextbook or textbooks with media products and current content. Thismapping or correlation facilitates ease of course content developmentand maintains the existing textbook-based foundation of many courses.The textbook structure 303 contains information such as, for example,title, chapter, author, publisher, ISBN number, year of publication, andother identifiers. Operatively coupled to the application software 301is, in some embodiments of the present invention, a database or otherdata schema containing key terms 323. Key terms are words, phrases,course concepts, and other elements that may be used in conjunction witha search to aid a user in locating relevant and timely information thatis suitable for their purposes. Also operatively coupled to theapplication software 301 is, in some embodiments of the presentinvention, current content 319 such as business news, web sources,podcasts, blogs, and user generated content. The current content 319 maybe resident within the system of the present invention, or, in someembodiments, may be located on a separate system or systems andconnected by way of networking techniques that are known to thoseskilled in the art. In addition to current content 319, in someembodiments of the present invention videos 321 may be operativelycoupled to the application software 301. The videos 321 may be residentwithin the system of the present invention, or, in some embodiments, maybe located on a separate system or systems and connected by way ofnetworking techniques that are known to those skilled in the art. Adatabase or other data schema containing slides 305 and the structure ofthe slides is also operatively coupled to the application software 301.The slides may be, for example, Microsoft PowerPoint™ formatted slides,Apple Keynote™ slides, and the like. The structure of the slides mayinclude, for example, slide title, article title, publication source,date of publication, notes, publication author, digital image, and otheridentifiers. The slides 305 are compiled based on current content, andmay include, for example, summaries of current content articles and newsstories. The slides 305 are updated regularly, and are accessiblethrough the application software 301. The slides 305 are used tosupplement static content in the preparation of course content, and aresearchable by way of the slide structure elements, key terms,relationship to textbook structure, and the like. A search utility 307is also coupled to the application software 301, and provides a userwith a multitude of search options designed to efficiently locate anddownload relevant and timely dynamic course content. Such utility is ofparamount importance in the preparation of course content where relevantand timely information adds value and interest to a class, course,seminar, and the like. Searches using the search utility 307 may lookfor key terms, textbook structure, key elements in the slides, currentcontent, videos, and other media products. In addition, full textsearching may be performed where all media is searched for a selectedterm or phrase. As part of the search utility 307, users will be able tofilter their search results in a number of ways, for example, by date,media type, major subject, and the like. A user may, in certainsituations, desire to run or otherwise display the media through liveclassroom use 306. This allows the user to directly use the media in aclassroom setting without the need to download the media. An appropriatesoftware player may be used depending on the nature of the media (video,audio, presentation slides, text, and the like). The applicationsoftware 301 also, in some embodiments of the present invention, hasnetwork connectivity 313 by way of a network 315 and user access 317.Such network connectivity may include, for example, the internet, alocal area network, a private network, a virtual private network, anoptical network, a radio communications network, and the like. Thesystem of the present invention also has a user interface 311 to allow auser to interact with the various functions of the application softwaresuch as search, download, browse, and the like. FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 depictan example of several screens of the user interface of the presentinvention. Also coupled to the application software 301 is a downloadutility 309 that allows a user to transfer media products such asslides, video, audio and the like. Download of media and other data isoptional, and often at the discretion of the user. The user, in someembodiments of the present invention, may preview and then selectdesired media products, place them in a temporary storage location suchas a virtual shopping cart, and then check out with the selected itemsusing the download utility 309. Payment processing may include creditcard, fixed monthly, quarterly or periodic fees, and the like. If theuser does not wish to download media or information, but wishes to flagthe media for future reference, a save/mark media function 310 can beused. The save/mark media function 310 allows a user to mark media usinga checkbox, highlighting, or the like. In addition, in some embodimentsof the present invention, the media can be saved in a temporary locationsuch as a folder, an album, or the like. The user can also use the savedor marked media without downloading by running the media by way of anetwork connection.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, the MySyllabi function 312 is acustomization feature that allows users to map the textbook and chaptersto specific weeks (e.g., week 1, week 2 . . . week 8). This allows thesystem to then “suggest” media for review or playback in specific weeksof the course. The syllabus is the organizing focus of all courses. Aspart of the syllabus, instructors include a weekly schedule of readingsand assignments. So, for example, students might need to read chapters 1and 2 in week chapter 3 in week 2 and so On. This provides a greatopportunity to suggest media to instructors based on their syllabustextbook reading assignments. MySyllabi is a customization option thatallows instructors to map a textbook and specific chapters to weeks inthe semester or quarter. From that, the system presearches new slidesand video and suggests them to the instructor. Course Instructors willneed to create a mapped textbook syllabus in New Syllabus Setup andperform the following:

-   -   Select textbook from dropdown list    -   Map specific chapters to specific weeks    -   Name syllabus    -   Date of syllabus (actual date, semester/quarter/year)    -   Copy syllabus (for next time they teach this course. Optional)    -   Assign specific slides/videos/media from suggested media to        specific weeks (optional). This should include drag and drop        capabilities.        A flowchart depicting the interaction of a user with the        MySyllabi functionality can be referred to in FIG. 9, a        description of which is provided later in this specification.

By way of example, and not limitation. Use Cases for the ApplicationSoftware (INCLASSMEDIA) 301 are as follows:

Description What a user sees and is able to do 1 Login This is the pagethe user comes to when they go to www.inclassmedia.com. They can either:Sign-in with a username and password which takes them to thedefault/home page or Register for the first time. They will see somethumbnails with the option to see an enlarged image. They should alsosee a streaming video or animated explanation of what inclassmediaallows them to do. 2 Default/Home This is the page users come to oncethey've signed in. Page They see rows of thumbnail images in LIFO orderrepresenting either slides or videos that they can preview or mark forsome further action. They see several SEARCH options Textbook/chaptersearch: Key term/full text search: They see several tabs at top of page:Saved Media (or myMedia) mySyllabus 3 Thumbnail Actions Thumbnailsrepresent slides, videos, or other media (e.g., podcasts). Users canMouseover the thumbnail to see the notes section of the slide or thedescription of the streaming video or other media. Left click on theslide to see full slide or to launch a player to preview the video orother media. Add the media to user's saved media (myMedia); users shouldbe able to add by dragging the thumbnail to the saved media tab or byclicking a plus or add button. Add the media directly to a specificvirtual presentation (Week 1, Pricing, etc.) Remove the media fromuser's saved media Rate the media 4 SEARCH Actions Users have severalsearch options: Textbook/chapter search: where they can select theirtextbooks from a dropdown box and then select the chapter to search. Keyterm/full text search: this is a suggestible search for terms that wouldappear in textbooks. Users can also search for any other term (e.g.,Starbucks, China). Users should be able to filter results by Date (e.g.,last week, month, 6 months, year) Media type: slide, video, podcast/mp3,etc. Major subject (e.g. Marketing, Strategy, Global Business, etc.) 5Registration There should be several registration options: Simpleregistration: First name Last name Email address Password School(database/lookup) Instructor status Fulltime Adjunct Customize ProfilePrimary Subject Interest Marketing Strategy Global Business Introductionto Business Organizational Behavior MIS Finance Accounting OtherNotification Options Email alerts when new material is added toINCLASSMEDIA (when and how often) 6 Sign-in Sign-in requests usernameand password. Also optionally authentication. Schools whose librarieshave subscribed to full text database services check authenticationbefore allowing click-thru to content provider database via proxyserver. If on campus, instructor gets passed through automatically (forexample, check IP address of machine on campus or domain name): ifoff-campus, users are asked to input college userid and password. 7Saved Media Users will be given storage space on server to save selected(myMedia) media. They will access this from tab on top of page or linkon page. Users will save media after browsing thumbnails, with option tosave them from thumbnail image or from full slide or streaming videoview. Saved media space has organizing functionality offering severalviews. Over time users can save many slides, videos, and other media (orpointers to those). These are presented to users as thumbnail views inLIFO order similar to the default/home page view. Users primarily willwant to Preview slides, videos, and other media to decide if they shoulduse them in class Organize media into virtual presentations forclassroom playback/viewing. For example, selecting 3 or 4 slides in aparticular order to “play” in class Name the virtual presentations(e.g., Week 2, Pricing, etc.) Remove them from saved media storage(i.e., un mark them) If they have many saved slides, they will want tosearch through them using the same search options as they have with thelarger database of media. 8 mySyllabus The syllabus is the organizingfocus of all courses. As part of the syllabus, instructors include aweekly schedule of readings and assignments. So, for example, studentsmight need to read chapters 1 and 2 in week 1, chapter 3 in week 2 andso on. This provides a great opportunity to suggest media to instructorsbased on their syllabus textbook reading assignments. mySyllabus is acustomization option that allows instructors to map a textbook andspecific chapters to weeks in the semester or quarter. From that, thesystem presearches new slides, videos, and other media, and suggeststhem to the instructor. Instructors will need to create a mappedtextbook syllabus in: New Syllabus Setup: Select textbook from dropdownlist Map specific chapters to specific weeks Name syllabus Date ofsyllabus (actual date, semester/quarter/ year) Copy syllabus (for nexttime they teach this course) Associate specific slides/videos/media fromsuggested media to specific events such as virtual presentations,specific weeks, etc.. This should include drag and drop capabilities. 9Admin Admin comprises a number of activities: a. Add Media/Edit Media b.Add/Edit Topics c. Add/Edit Key terms d. Add/Edit Source Publications e.Add/Edit Textbooks f. Add/Edit Users g. Add/Edit Schools h.Reports/Analytics 9a Add Media/Edit Add media. Need to upload media toserver and define it for the Media system. Media will have a number offields that define it: Title Type Source (journal/publication name) Date(publication date) Date entered into the system Key terms Topics (topicsare a higher-level hierarchical level in the database schema). All keyterms when they get entered in the system need to be associated with oneor more topics. Illustrates. A field in the notes section of slides oradded as description with video and other media to tell the instructorwhy this is relevant. Instructor can use this verbatim in discussing themedia in class. Article Context: this is also part of the notes sectionof the slides. Link to full text article. This is what the library callsa “persistent link” or a URL that gets passed through the library'sproxy server directly to the content provider's database to pop the fulltext of the article in another browser window. Image (such as jpeg) forthe thumbnail. 9b Add/Edit Topics Topics are high-level businessconcepts that include many key terms. They tend to be equivalent in manycases to chapter headings (e.g., Pricing, Distribution, Advertising.etc). their primary purpose is to better manage thousands of key terms.For example, when adding key terms to a particular slide, it is easierto select key terms from a shorter more relevant list associated with atopic (Pricing, for example, which might include a list of 30 keyterms), rather than from the entire list of thousands of key terms. Keyterms are associated with at least one topic 9c Add/Edit Key When mediaget added to the database, they are assigned key Terms terms. Theseterms are searchable and correspond to terms of the same name that areentered in the database when textbooks are added. (Terms are added tochapters during the textbook input process.) This is a key concept inthe ICM value proposition and allows instructors to find very relevantmedia. It also allows the system to suggest media in mySyllabus (above).The easiest way to add new key terms is to have the system recognizethem when a slide is uploaded to the database. If the key term alreadyexists (i.e., it was added during textbook setup or manually earlier),fine; if not the system flags this as a new key term and requires thatthe admin associate the term with a topic and textbook chapter. 9dAdd/Edit Source Each slide is derived so to speak from an article in thebusiness Publications press (Wall St. Journal, New York Times, TheEconomist, etc.). When slide is created, admin needs to associate itwith a source publication. Users might search for media based on thissource. Slide shows source attribution at bottom of every slide. Adminalso enters publication date. 9e Add/Edit Users have the option tosearch for media by selecting a Textbooks textbook and chapter from adrop down list. Textbook creation or input includes: Adding/DeletingTextbook Information Textbook title Textbook authors Textbook publisherTextbook edition Adding/associating Chapters with textbooks Chaptertitle Chapter number Assigning Key Words Editing Chapters Adding ordeleting key words Changing chapter titles or numbers (not likely unlessmistake) 9f Add/Edit Users Users will be automatically added during theregistration process. Admin will need to add users or deny access, orreview and modify user information, i.e., admin access to user data.Customer data will be available for reports and analysis 9g Add/EditSchools Registration requires inputting of college/university. This isbest done through a drop down list. Admin will enter or edit this list.9h Reports/Analytics Number of users Number of media Media Usage Mostpopular Usage by media type Usage by school Usage by users Usage byprimary subject area Usage by date (day, week, month) Saved Media(myMedia) Number of saved media accounts Number of media saved Number ofmySyllabus accounts Number of virtual presentations Searches byTextbook/Chapter Key terms Other full text terms Most popular searchterms

Turning now to FIG. 4, a top level data access diagram 400 of thepresent invention is shown. The application software 301 deliversvarious media products 305 such as slides, videos, audio, and the likeby mapping static textbook structures to current dynamic content.Current content used to create the media products includes, for example,business news 401 (with sources such as CNN, Business Week, TheEconomist, The Wall Street Journal, and the like), blogs 403, websources 405, podcasts 407, other categories 409, and user generatedcontent 411. The application software 301 may also provide, in someembodiments of the present invention, access to current content directlyor through an intermediary provider, system or network. The mediaproducts 305 are often based on current content, and may be created byindividuals and placed on or within the application software 301, or maybe created by users themselves, or may further be created by way ofsoftware or a combination of software and individual or group efforts.The media products 305 may also, in some embodiments of the presentinvention, be procured from third parties or content providers. Theapplication software is searchable using search 307 and network access315 techniques. The search may look for key terms, textbook structure,key elements in the slides, current content, videos, and other mediaproducts. In addition, full text searching may be performed where allmedia is searched for a selected term. As part of the search utility307, users will be able to filter their search results in a number ofways, for example, by date, media type, major subject, and the like.Network access 315 may include, for example, the internet, a local areanetwork, a private network, a virtual private network, an opticalnetwork, a radio communications network, and the like.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a flowchart 500 can be seen that depicts atypical user session of the present invention. At the start of thesession 501, a user is prompted to search by textbook data in decision503. If the user does not desire to search by textbook data, they may instep 511 perform a full text search, search by keyword, browse mostrecent media, or select other search criteria. Once their search iscompleted in step 511, they will receive a listing of relevant media instep 509, have the ability to optionally sort the media by date range,media type, major subject, key term, etc. in step 513. In step 515, theywill view the desired media in the application, and in step 517, theuser will save or mark the desired media, or optionally download themedia in step 518. If no media is saved, marked or downloaded in steps517 or 518, the user can run another search in step 521. Similarly, oncethe desired media is saved, marked or downloaded in steps 517 or 518,the user can also run another search in step 521. If, in decision 503,the user desires to search by textbook data, they may select thetextbook title in step 505, select the textbook chapter in step 507, andreceive a listing of relevant media in step 509. The user also has theability to optionally sort the media by date range, key term, etc. instep 513. In step 515, they will view the desired media in theapplication, and in steps 517 or 518, the user will save, mark ordownload the desired media. If no media is saved, marked or downloadedin steps 517 or 518, the user can run another search in decision step521. Similarly, once the desired media is saved, marked or downloaded insteps 517 or 518, the user can also run another search in step 521. Toterminate the process, if another search is not elected in decision step521, the session is ended in step 523. The steps described by way ofFIG. 5 are by example, and not limitation. Other similar and additionalsteps may be known to those skilled in the art, and are not intended tobe a departure from the fundamental attributes of the present inventionas defined herein.

Turning now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, several screen shots of one embodimentof the present invention are depicted.

FIG. 6 shows a media search session by textbook structure. As can beseen, a textbook title is selected from a drop down list, and thechapters of the selected textbook also appear in a drop down list. Theuser may search for media products such as slides that are mapped to theselected title and chapter of the textbook selected. A preview of eachof the media products is then displayed, as can be seen in FIG. 6, andthe user can select the desired media products for retention andsubsequent download. As seen in FIG. 6, a search may also include daterange and or key terms.

FIG. 7 further depicts a media search session with a drop down list ofkey terms displayed.

FIG. 8 depicts a media view following a media search session. A close upof the selected media, in this example slides, is shown along with anotes field at the bottom of the slide.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flowchart depicting the syllabus creationroutine of the present invention is shown. As previously described byway of FIG. 3, the MySyllabi functionality allows users to map theirselected textbook and chapters to specific weeks of the course, with theapplication then returning suggested media for review or playback inspecific weeks of the course.

When a user selects the MySyllabi functionality, they can either viewsyllabi that currently exists in step 903, view suggested media in step905 that is provided by the application, or elect to create a dynamicsyllabus in step 907. If they elect to create a syllabus in step 907,the user can optionally assign syllabus name(s) 909. The applicationthen collects course information in step 911 such as the course number,course name, and start date. The user then selects the textbook theyplan to use in step 913, and then the user maps textbook chapters tospecific weeks in step 915, and saves the syllabus they have created instep 917. In step 919, media relevant to the course are returned to theuser, and the user previews the media in step 921 and createsassociations between the media and the syllabus, as well as othervariables such as week, event, presentation, and the like. In step 923,if the user elects to create another syllabus, they are returned to step907. Should they not elect to create another syllabus, the routine isended and they may return home in step 925.

Lastly, to provide a complete understanding of the present invention andthe various embodiments described herein, FIGS. 10-17 are variousexemplary screenshots of the present invention. These exemplaryscreenshots are not intended to be limiting in any way, but rather, areintended to provide examples of one embodiment of the present inventionthat, when taken with this specification and the remaining drawings,will provide one skilled in the art with an adequate understanding ofthe present invention such the present invention and its variousembodiments can be made and used.

It is, therefore, apparent that there has been provided, in accordancewith the various objects of the present invention, a computer basedsystem and method for the creation and access of dynamic course contentand associated media products.

While the various objects of this invention have been described inconjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that manyalternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spiritand broad scope of this specification, claims, and the attacheddrawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-based system for the creation andaccess of dynamic timely course content comprising: a computer having aprocessor, memory, and access to computer readable media; a computerprogram stored on computer readable media configured to correlateelectronic textbook structure data with dynamic timely media productsstored on computer readable media; a user interface displayed on acomputer monitor configured to interact with said computer programwhereas the user interface comprises a display of electronic textbookstructure data correlated to dynamic timely media products; a databaseof textbook structure data and course concepts stored on computerreadable media and operatively coupled to said computer program; atleast one dynamic current content electronic news source received from acomputer network and stored on computer readable media that is used inthe creation of said dynamic timely media products; and a search utilitystored on computer readable media; whereas the search utility allows auser to select the dynamic timely media product created from the dynamiccurrent content news source while viewing the electronic textbookstructure data correlated to dynamic timely media products.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the correlation of electronic textbookstructure data with dynamic timely media products is displayed on acomputer monitor using key words.
 3. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising slides stored on computer readable media operatively coupledto textbook structure data.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprisingvideos stored on computer readable media operatively coupled to textbookstructure data.
 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a networkconnection.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a save/markmedia function stored on computer readable media.
 7. The system of claim6, wherein the save/mark media function has previewing capabilities. 8.The system of claim 1, further comprising a download utility stored oncomputer readable media.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising aMySyllabi function stored on computer readable media.
 10. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising key terms data stored on computer readablemedia.
 11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a live classroomuse function stored on computer readable media.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the live classroom use function has web based real timeplayback of selected media.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the mediaproducts are business news.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the mediaproducts are electronic media.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein thesearch utility performs full text searching.
 16. A method for thecreation and access of dynamic timely course content, the methodcomprising the steps of: providing with a computer electronic textbookstructure data to a user; correlating using a computer program stored oncomputer readable media electronic textbook structure data with dynamictimely media products stored on computer readable media; displaying on acomputer monitor a user interlace configured to interact with saidcomputer program whereas the user interface comprises a display ofelectronic textbook structure data correlated to dynamic timely mediaproducts; operatively coupling a database of textbook structure data andcourse concepts stored on computer readable media to said computerprogram; receiving from a computer network at least one dynamic currentcontent electronic news source and storing the at least one dynamiccurrent content electronic news source on computer readable media;creating dynamic timely media products from the at least one dynamiccurrent content electronic news source; and selecting with a searchutility stored on computer readable media a dynamic timely media productcreated from the dynamic current content news source while viewing theelectronic textbook structure data correlated to dynamic timely mediaproducts.